Ring Of Fire
by Captain Jams
Summary: Sometimes journeys aren't what you thought they were, and sometimes they're not so great. (a retelling of Firery ring) (don't own Halo Microsoft Does)


Space...  
Space...  
Oh, how beautiful and mysterious it is, filled with bright stars and many colorful arrangements of nebulas. How can something this magnificent be so EVIL, so DANGEROUS, so misleading... Then Again it shouldn't take all the blame. The REAL danger isn't so much space itself, but its inhabitants. Throughout the galaxy's life, it has housed many, and each one of them has had many differences, things that set them apart... all except one thing, WAR.  
War it's an ugly thing to some, to some others though? Its welcomed with open arms. This is no different to some species of the Covenant especially the Sangheili. The Sangheili thrive on warfare, it's their whole heritage it defines their people, who they are. Although some strive for it more than others and to Shipmaster Xyva 'Susovee it was if he knew no other word than war.

Shipmaster Xyva 'Susovee was a Sangheili to be feared. His relentless and ruthless tactics made him a foe to be reckoned with, so much so that Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee requested, that he was to break off from his battlegroup over Reach to follow the single fleeing human ship. While this would look like a punishment, in reality, this was a great honor. Besides the Supreme Commander had shared to all those under his command on why they were chasing a single human ship, it wasn't for the ship its self but where it was going. The humans were unknowingly leading them straight to the Covenant's most sought out prize, a holy artifact like none other, Halo.

Shipmaster Xyva 'Susovee sat in awe when he laid his eyes upon it. He almost threw himself off his command post unto the deck of the sight of the holy Halo Ring. He stopped himself though, he had to have self-control in front of his crew members. The last thing they needed was for their Shipmaster to lose his composure. He sat up straighter at his command post and barked a command at his communications officer, " Status on the Command net! any new orders from the Supreme Commander?". "no your excellency, we are still on standby and are currently waiting for the scouts to report in" said the comms officer. Xyva shuffled at his post, eager for the upcoming fight with the humans. After what seemed like endless cycles the comms officer piped up " Shipmaster, the Supreme Commander wants all of our plasma lines hot and ready to fire and for our boarding parties to be ready!". Xyva grunted in acknowledgment " Weapons officer heat all plasma torpedo lines and engage all pulse lasers!". The weapon officer bent over his controls and typed commands furiously. "All boring parties to your assigned craft!" yelled Xyva over the intercom.

On the other side of Threshold, space distorted and ripped as a lone Halcyon light class cruiser came out of slipspace. The Halcyon slowly skimmed across Threshold towards the ring-shaped world, by the time the human ship had a full view of the ring they were fired upon by numerous Covenant ships that were until now hidden from their sensors. Before the humans could get their bearings the started boxing in the ship, unfortunately for the Covenant, the human captain had other ideas, the human ship quickly burnt its thrusters to the hottest they could towards the ring.

"Boarding parties, launch!" Xyva shouted over the ship-wide battle net. The boarding ships exploded from their launch bays racing each other to see who could latch first. Not all the ships made it most were picked off by both the human ships point defense guns or the defensive cluster of longsword fighters. Those that did make it latched onto and docked where lifeboats use to be. Once the ship confirmed successful docking the door swished open and the aliens that were inside rushed out to meet the humans in battle, all ready to smell the sweet smell of burning human flesh.

The CCS-class battlecruiser Upheld Path unleashed another lance of pulse lasers. The order to hold off on firing their plasma torpedos had come in as soon as the human ship made a beeline for the holy ring. Without the plasma torpedos, it made disabling the ship a whole lot harder. With that information in mind, Xyva exhaled loudly, trying his hardest not to show his absolute rage. While Shipmaster Xyva was revered for his tactical prowess he was often criticized for his short temper and rash decision making. Those two traits were the reason that he has not yet achieved the rank of Fleetmaster. Xyva slammed his fist against his armrest in utter rage, his golden combat harness produced sparks when it made contact with the armrest. "status report!" Xyva yelled. " we are taking some hits but nothing we shouldn't be able to take" the weapons officer reported. The shipmaster seemed to tense, even more, gripping the end of an armrest. Upheld Path shook harshly and threw anyone who was standing on the floor. Explosions rippled among the ship and it was cut in half due to the heavy amount of pressure on where they were hit. "WHAT DID WE GET HIT WITH!" Xyva Yelled over the sirens, "WE GOT HIT BY THIER MAGNETIC WEAPON, IT TORE RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDSECTION!".

The Remains of Upheld Path tumbled towards Halo at break-neck speeds. Once it hit the atmosphere it somewhat stabilized. The ship hit the ground hard.


End file.
